Irvine Valley 's men's basketball team stayed with defending state champion and undefeated Fullerton for a while.
But the Hornets had a little too much for the Lasers, who dropped their Orange Empire Conference opener, 65-56, to Fullerton at home on Friday night.
A 21-2 run by Fullerton to close out the first half and begin the second half was too much for the Irvine Valley to overcome.
IVC tied the game, 20-20, on a three-pointer by freshman forward Colby Waite with 4:10 remaining in the first half.
But the Lasers didn't score again in the half.
Fullerton closed out the opening half on a 9-0 run. A three-pointer by Tawon Elston off an assist by Harrison Bonner put Fullerton ahead, 29-20, with 31 seconds left in the half.
IVC scored the first two points of the second half, getting a layup from sophomore guard Christian Louis. But then Fullerton rattled off the next 12 points in a row to take control.
A layup by Bonner gave Fullerton a 41-22 advantage with 15:15 remaining in the game.
Irvine Valley could only get as close as eight points the rest of the way. And that came late. A three-pointer by freshman guard JT Robinson pulled IVC to within 64-56 with 23 seconds left.
Irvine Valley, ranked No. 25 in the state, took its second loss of the season, falling to 10-2 overall.
No. 2 Fullerton improved to 13-0 overall and 2-0 in conference action. The Hornets started conference with a win over Santa Ana on Wednesday.
Irvine Valley got a big game from Louis, who had a game-high 27 points. He went 9 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 4 from three-point range. Louis also made all six of his free throws.
Robinson was the other Laser player in double figures. He had 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals.
But the Lasers shot just 32.8 percent (19 of 58) from the field in the contest.
Fullerton was paced by Elston, who had 18 points and nine rebounds. DJ Houston finished with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, Jacob Eyman had 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks and Ronnie Stapp ended with 11 points and seven rebounds for Fullerton.
Irvine Valley plays again in a non-conference game on Dec. 28 at home against LA Valley at 5 p.m.
